News

Adam Horowitz ’13 has been selected as a recipient of the 2013 Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing for his Brooklyn Law Review note, “Giving Battered Immigrant Fiancées a Way Out of Abusive Relationships: Proposed Amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act” (2012). Horowitz will receive the award at the 14th Annual Burton Awards Program and Gala, held at the Library of Congress in June. He is the fifth BLS student to be awarded this prestigious honor in the last several years.

“We are extremely proud of Adam for winning this award,” said Professor Marilyn Walter, Director of the Law School’s Legal Writing Program. “Only 15 student authors are selected out of all of the entries received from the nation’s law schools—it’s a great honor.”

Horowitz’s note addresses an issue unique to beneficiaries of K visas, which allow foreign fiancé(e)s to enter the United States to marry a U.S. citizen, provided the marriage occurs within 90 days of their arrival. However, should a foreign fiancé(e) be abused by their U.S. citizen petitioner within the 90 days—and then not proceed with marriage to the abuser within that timeframe—the visa will expire. The fiancé(e) is then forced to return home, remain in the U.S. unlawfully, or seek assistance that may not be readily available.

For many, few options exist other than to marry those who abuse them. In his note Horowitz proposes legislative solutions that may provide protections for these vulnerable individuals, including two amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act.

“I am delighted to have been selected for this award,” Horowitz said. “It was a tremendous surprise and a wonderful note on which to end my law school career. I hope the Burton Award will signify to employers and potential clients that I am a competent legal writer who is able to digest complex bodies of law and compose salient legal arguments.”

Horowitz, a graduate of the University of Rhode Island, has distinguished himself throughout his BLS legal education. In addition to his role as associate managing editor of the Brooklyn Law Review, he was a founding member and inaugural executive officer of Brooklyn Law Students for Sensible Drug Policy (BLSSDP), a Sparer Public Interest Law Fellow, a BLSPI Fellow, and a Platinum Public Service Award (1000+ hours) recipient. He was also a member of the Moot Court Honor Society and a research assistant to Professor Mark Noferi. Horowitz’s past work experiences include internships with the African Services Committee, the Safe Harbor Clinic, Legal Services of New Jersey’s Immigration Representation Project, a federal magistrate judge, and a solo practitioner in entertainment law. Prior to law school, he served for three years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa.

“BLS students have a great track record with the Burton Awards,” Professor Walter said. “Rachel Braunstein ’03, Michael Weitman ’07, Anna C. Burns ’08, and Zachary Kupferman ’12 are all past winners of the award. Our success reflects the great talents of our students, the importance of our faculty’s analytic training of those students, and the fundamental strength of the Law School’s Legal Writing Program.”